Diverted Fate
by Chibi Genesis
Summary: InuKag- After seeing Inuyasha and Kikyo together, Kagome runs of into Sengoku Jidai with the shards she still posseses. She finds an old miko who will help her use the power of the shards. That may not have been her best idea...
1. Some Things Just Are

**Disclaimer: **I don't own ANYTHING! I don't own the computer I'm using right now. I don't own the house I live in. So if you sue. You get NOTHING! I'm just 13...jeez… why would you wanna sue a little kid anyway? It's bad publicity. I don't even own this series…

**Author's Notes:** Hi! Chibi again… Yes. I'm aware that it's been like… two months… but I absolutely hated the last Prologue I did so I've decided to start totally from scratch now! ^^ I hope you guys aren't TOO upset with me! I'd hate that! ;_;

Diverted Fate 

Prologue 

**Some Things Just Are**

Inuyasha headed toward the bone-eaters well with a resolved look on his face. He knew he couldn't ask her to come back… that would be cruel. He was actually going to have to say goodbye this time, he'd never see her again. If he didn't… how could he move on?

As he walked out from the forest, the intense change in sunlight made him wince. When he opened his eyes he found Kagome sitting on the edge of the well. She was sitting to his side. Her gaze rested upon her lap while her hair blew slightly in the gentle breeze. He stared at her a moment, transfixed.

She turned to face him, her eyes sad, depressed… and she stood up.

"I went back to my time… wondering about you… Kikyo… a-and me…" Kagome began. Her eyes slid from his to the ground then off to the side.

"Kagome. I'm so ---"

"It's ok Inuyasha… I-I understand how you feel. I convinced myself that I couldn't come back because of it." Kagome gracefully sat back down on the well side and stared ahead of her.

"Kagome… before I met you, I didn't trust anyone. But then… I saw you cry for me, and how no matter what happened, you were always right there at my side. Whenever I'm with you, I feel at ease and happy. I began to think that is would always be that way. But I'm not _supposed_ to feel that way. Kikyo… Kikyo gave her life coming after me. It's only right that I repay her sacrifice with my own."

Kagome turned back to face him and nodded slightly.

"Mm-hmm. I can't compete with Kikyo… because I'm still alive." She paused to choose her words in her mind before she went on. "I thought a lot about Kikyo and I realized, she and I are entirely different. Everyone's been saying that I'm her reincarnation. Even if I am, I'm not her. I'm me…Kagome. I have my own heart. The thing is, I do understand one feeling Kikyo has… because it's one I share with her. We _both_ wanted to be with you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked slightly taken aback when Kagome said this. She simple turned to him with a small smile on her face.

"It's actually funny you know? As soon as it struck me that we share this mutual feeling… I felt a little better. That's how I managed to summon the courage to come see you…"

The weak smile that had rested itself upon her features suddenly slid away, as though she had come to an unpleasant decision in her mind. She stood up and slowly made her way toward him, not daring to meet his eyes.

"But now... I can't. I want you to be happy, Inuyasha. I can't keep playing second place to Kikyo. If you want to go with her… I'm not going to stop you… I-I won't get in your way anymore." Kagome chanced a darting glance at his expression. He seemed resigned to something… almost sad... but not quite.

"Kagome…"

She found herself at a sudden loss for words. She choked back a sob and fought against the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks… She knew he hated it when she cried…

Inuyasha impulsively pulling her shaking frame into a tight embrace. Unfortunately, instead of having the desired effect --- to make her stop crying --- she began sobbing harder on his shoulder. He just held her there. When her legs seemed to fail her and she began to the ground, her crouched down beside her, refusing to let go.

When Kagome pulled back, she still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" whispered Kagome.

"Wha---? Why are you---?"

Instead of answering his question, she abruptly stood up and viciously scrubbed the tears from her eyes. Completely forgetting the Shikon Shards she still carried with her, she broke into a run, beginning to feel suffocated in his presence.

Stunned for a moment, Inuyasha stood, gazing after her until he came to his senses. He nearly slapped himself. He chased after her. There was no way he was going to let her leave like that… He'd known she probably would have left… but he didn't want her to go like this…

The fact that she was crying, and that he was the cause of it was at the foremost part of his mind, gnawing at his conscience.

"Kagome! Wait!"

She chose to ignore him and simply ran faster, knowing all the while that it was futile. He was much faster than she was. Sure enough, in no time at all, he was behind her. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her around to face him.

"Inuyasha… just let me go…"

"I'm not going to let you leave like that! Kagome… don't just leave m--- everyone like this…" He had wanted to say "me". He didn't want her to leave _him_ although he knew he was probably being selfish… still…

Kagome finally looked at him and what he saw nearly broke him. Kagome was crying, but this time she wasn't crying for him… she was crying _because_ of him. Her expression was so pained…

Kagome wrenched free from his grip but made no move to run. She dropped her head again and stared to the side.

"Inuyasha… sit." It barely came out as a whisper.

"Damn it Kag---!" Inuyasha's voice was cut off as he slammed into the ground. Kagome shot off, determined to get out of there. She didn't exactly have an idea as to where she was going at the moment… She just knew she had to get away from him…

**Author's Notes:** THANK GOD FOR SPELLING CHECK!!! ^^ Well, have to go now! Byeness


	2. Search and Rescue

**Disclaimer:** This is so obvious it's ridiculous. If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be spending my free time writing here now would I?

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, yeah… I know. I said it would take a little while but it's here now isn't it! I got reviews…! Yay! So I was happy… so I wrote more. See how it works? Anyway… you don't want to listen to my psychobabble… so um… I'll see you at the end!

Diverted Fate 

**Chapter One**

**Search and Rescue**

"Inuyasha!" 

A cold sweat broke out on Kagome's brow.

"You can't leave me here damn it!"

She tossed and turned, flinching massively.

"Help me…"

Kagome shot awake, breathing as though she had just run miles. Looking around she realized it had simply been a dream, a nightmare. She had been having them ever since she had run off. They didn't mean anything. They couldn't. At least… that's what she forced herself to believe.

She shook her head to clear it of the last lingering remnants of the dream. She sat up and wiped a hand across her forehead. It was slightly earlier than dawn. Seeing as she was already awake, she decided it was as good a time as any to get moving. If she was going to get anywhere at all, she first had to get to her feet. A surprisingly hard task considering her left side seemed to have gone back to sleep of it's own accord.

Wiping a hand across her face once more to rid herself of some of the grogginess, she slid out of her sleeping bag and stumbled her way over to the small stream she had come upon last night and had stayed beside.

Looking at her reflection, she knew she could have looked better. Her face was unusually pale and her eyes were slightly bloodshot, probably a result of her rough night. She dipped her hands into the cold water and splashed it across her face.

Kagome grabbed a towel from her over-stuffed pack. As she tugged it out, the Shikon shards she was carrying fell to the ground. She picked them up and stared at them thoughtfully.

It hadn't quite been three weeks since she had left… she had gone home only once since then. Kagome might have stayed home but she had quickly realized that Inuyasha would eventually have to come to get the shards… and of course he's go to her time. Or maybe that was just one of her half-hopes… Even so, she realized that wouldn't be the wisest choice. If he did come, she didn't know that she would be able to face him. Not to mention what questions her family would ask. She didn't really feel like trying to be cheerful for anyone.

Considering that… she couldn't make herself leave her own time _or _the Sengoku Jidai completely. Taking away either one would be like ripping a piece of her soul from her. She knew from experience that it wasn't a pleasant sensation. So it was simple, Kagome had stayed here, even though she had had to keep moving on her own. She knew Inuyasha knew she was still here as well. He would have caught her scent the moment she had climbed from the well most likely.

So Kagome moved around daily. Mainly she was still looking for the Shikon shards. She wasn't dumb. With the two shards she had kept, she would eventually run into Inuyasha again. She might as well have more shards when she did.

That was all she had really done with him anyway. She was just the weak little shard detector who constantly needed to be watched over. They were better of without her.

"No!"

Kagome threw the small bottle back into her pack. She wouldn't think about that now. She wouldn't let herself. That wasn't going to help anything. She forced her thoughts away from that and dug out her clothes.

She hadn't seen much point in continuing to wear her school uniform. Somehow… that had stopped seeming so important. She had missed so many days of school already and it was so hard to keep up. She had in no way however, forgotten her promise and debt to get the Shikon no Tama back together. Maybe that's why she'd stayed. That was one thing she hadn't really figured out yet. Why.

Of course she had. She loved him.

"Not gone think about that remember?" she berated herself. She sighed heavily and pulled her shirt over her head. It was a simple white shirt that she wore with a black shirt she had found in her closet. At least that way her mother wouldn't have to constantly be replacing school uniforms. That is… if she ever did go back to her time and start school up again anytime soon. The administration had started to wonder why she needed so many replacement uniforms anyway. It surprised her that she hadn't thought of it sooner.

She pulled her pack over her shoulders and began to walk towards the woods that surrounded her on all sides. She was mildly hungry. She'd be able to find something later.

^. ~

Inuyasha walked away from Kaede's hut. Three weeks! Three weeks and they were still blaming him! What was he supposed to do? He couldn't go get her. That wouldn't be fair to her. He knew he'd have to get the Shikon shards from her sooner or later, but he had decided on later.

He wasn't looking forward to it.

There were few things that scared him. One of them had been losing Kagome. And now it seems he had. He knew she was still here in the feudal era somewhere. He had caught her scent when she came back. He did wonder though, why she had. Didn't she say that…?

He realized now that he should have gotten the shards. That was probably why. If nothing else, that was all. But he didn't know if he really wanted to. Once he had the shards, Kagome would have no reason to stay anymore. He'd never see her again. Ever. That was probably one of the worst possible things he could think of. But it would come to that. He knew it would… eventually.

Somehow his feet had led him to the well, interesting how your subconscious can lead you to wherever it wants without you realizing it. Her knelt beside it and stared down into it.

What should he do now?

Just as he did this, a rather annoying ball of fluff attached itself to his head.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing! You can't just sit here if you're not going to do anything! We have to find Kagome! Find some more shards! Something! Stop wasting our time!" Shippo yelled at him.

Inuyasha grabbed Shippo's tail and brought him to eye level.

"Go bother someone else, runt."

Shippo squirmed to get out of his hold.

"Let me go!"

"Whatever ya want."

Inuyasha's eyebrow ticked from annoyance and threw Shippo a fair distance. He then got up and stated walking towards the forest. He needed some alone time.

**AN:** See. First Chapter! ^^ I know that was mostly from Kagome's side but I really didn't have much for Inuyasha to do this chapter. He'll have more next time. Gotta go now! Byeness.


	3. Or Not

**Disclaimer: **No, no, no, and…no. I do not own Inu-Yasha or any Inu-Yasha-like products.

**Author's Notes: **Ahem, I do not make any excuses for the rather…LATE… update of this fic. All I can tell you is that I have a lot of things to do and when I do get some time to sit down and work on this, it's not always a lot. But _thank you_ to everyone who updated. I really appreciate it. Now without further aduer…(or cursing…) I bring you the second chapter.

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**Diverted Fate**

**Chapter 2**

**…Or Not**

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Kagome made her way slowly through the dense underbrush that covered the forest floor. It had been four hours now since she'd lost the beaten path. She had first wandered off when she had sensed the faint presence of a Shikon shard to the north. After losing the path, the search for the elusive village had become measurably harder, but she trudged on in hopes of finding the village before nightfall, and if she was lucky, maybe a futon to sleep on for once. She cursed herself for making her earlier detour now.

The aura had faded in and out ever since sometime that morning. Always to the north and always just a little too far out of her reach. She'd continued looking for it the first couple of times after deciding she was hopelessly lost anyway. After only managing to make her situation worse, however, Kagome decided to ignore that nagging feeling somewhere in her mind that told her there was a shard of the Shikon no Tama nearby. Instead, she concentrated on finding the path or the village. Whichever came first.

She couldn't help but feel that whatever held the shard was taunting her though. Begging her to come after it.

After some mishaps of branches nicking her face and arms, and tripping over what seemed to be badly placed tree roots, Kagome pushed her way through the thicket and stumbled into a clearing.

"Finally! It's about time…"she mumbled to herself.

Kagome wearily tossed her pack to the ground and dropped down next to it. She momentarily lifted her eyes to the sky where she saw a steady trail of smoke. This, at first, didn't quite register in her mind but she soon did a double take looking back toward it. It had to be from the village! Kagome hurriedly stood back up and looked over the trees that began slopping down a hill a short distance from where she stood. It couldn't have been anything else!

"So I haven't been bumbling around this whole time." Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief.

She sat back down to rest awhile, safe in the knowledge that the village was close by. That's when she felt a sudden strong pang to the north again. She looked quickly into the woods at her left and saw a blur of green and blue, but only for an instant. Then it was gone. She got up quickly, stringing her bow with an arrow. This had to be what she had been sensing all day.

The sun was beginning to go down in the west. She had a couple hours at least until dusk. Kagome mentally noted the general direction of the village and made her way over to the clearing near to where she had seen the earlier movement. Kagome tried calmly aiming her arrow into the wood. 

"Show yourself! Or I'll… I'll shoot!"

She swallowed nervously while mentally berating herself for the slight hesitation in her words. She held her ground and managed to keep her senses sharp. The Shikon shard's presence became even more intense. A thought came to her mind…were there two?

Kagome had no time to mull over this as something abruptly flew past her and grazed her cheek; starting a small but steady flow of blood. She was startled enough in the process that her grip on the arrow failed and it went flying, leaving her temporarily unarmed. She heard the vibrating twang of the arrow embedding itself in a nearby tree. Kagome spun around quickly, looking for the source of the attack. Nothing.

Confused and suddenly a bit disoriented, she withdrew another arrow from her quiver. It wouldn't help her in the slightest if her attacker were omnipresent. Her eyes flickered from place to place as she searched hopefully for another flash of color. Kagome's innate sense for the Shikon shards told her that whatever it was, it was somewhere to her left. Now was one of those times she wished she could be more specific, but the feeling was still rather vague.

Kagome discreetly moved her body to the left then sharply turned her upper body in the same direction, releasing her arrow into the hazy darkness of the forest. She heard the piercing of flesh and a muttered curse. Kagome drew and strung another arrow. 

"Stop toying with me!"

The bow creaked under the strain Kagome placed on the string. Some rustling noises came from the bushes as something similar to a mutated moth came from the shrubbery. Kagome's eyes widened then narrowed as she pulled the string tighter. 

"What are you? How did you come to posses those shards?" Kagome asked in a would-be commanding voice. That is… if she could have raised her voice a little more.

"I owe you no answers, trespasser."  
  


The youkai wasted no time in pleasantries as it rushed toward Kagome. While she had been prepared for this, her reflexes were not near fast enough. Just as she released her hold on the arrow, the moth youkai's razor-sharp wings came into contact with her bow. It snapped from the contact and physical strain placed on it's string and back-lashed at Kagome's face. She fell backward onto the ground, now unarmed and without much to her defense.

She raised a hand to her bleeding cheek and held it there, attempting to stem the flow of blood.

  
"Oh bloody hell…" 

Kagome suddenly found herself wishing Inuyasha were there to protect her…

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^.~

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Inuyasha looked up from his position where he had been sitting against the outside wall of Kaede's hut. The wind was blowing strongly from the northeast… and with it, it brought a faint, almost unnoticeable trace of a disturbing scent.

"Kagome…"

Inuyasha jumped up and walked in the direction from which the wind gust had come. He had to be hallucinating. Kagome couldn't be… But the wind had died down for the moment and he couldn't smell anything. He tried to simply shake off the feeling. There was nothing there. He was imagining things. Inuyasha turned back around and began walking towards the hut when the wind picked up again and the trace scent once again came with it. Kagome's blood. The scent he had picked up on every once in awhile when Kagome had been with them; when she was wounded in battle or had cut a finger on a thorn. He froze in his tracks and whipped around. He was about to dart off in the direction of the scent when a pit appeared in the hollow of his stomach. If he was going, he couldn't very well just leave without telling the others. Nor could he tell them his reason for deciding they had to leave so abruptly.

He walked dejectedly over to the small structure of Kaede's hut, racking his brain for something that would get them moving without having to tell them what he feared had happened to Kagome. When he did finally think of a rather simple plan, he nearly slapped himself upside the head.   
  


As he reached the door to Kaede's hut he called out.

"Let's go, " Inuyasha said shortly.

Miroku stood slowly, "Go where?"

Inuyasha was already walking through the doorway, "I smell a youkai."

He shrugged his shoulders carelessly and started forward, leaving the rest of them to find their own way after him.

Miroku and Sango exchanged a curious look and Miroku left with Kirara and Shippo trailing behind. Meanwhile, Sango bent down to pick up her Hiriakotsu.

Far ahead, Inuyasha smirked as he saw them following. That had been simple enough.

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^.~

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Kagome darted her way out of every onslaught brought on by the youkai as best she could. Unfortunately, with little success.  She had several small cuts on her legs and arms and a gash in her stomach had her gasping for breath at every movement.

She tried to gain some advantage by backing against a tree so she could see every other area of possible attack. She pulled an arrow from the quiver she still carried on her back as to at least have some meager defenses. From her right the feeling of the two Shikon shards pulsated gently. Kagome held her arrow up over her head and plunged it down upon the youkai as it skimmed past her.

Its wing caught Kagome's leg and she gasped as she fell to her knees while the youkai skidded to the ground a ways beyond her. Kagome closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She stood up slowly and shakily to look over at the moth youkai. Her arrow and pierced and was now sticking out of its forehead.

Assuming the youkai was dead, Kagome leaned against the tree and slid back down against it. She took a moment to breath before slowly drawing a last arrow as; precaution and crawled her way over to the motionless collection of wings and flesh. She looked it over and then plunged the head of her arrow into its shoulder blade and pulled it out, extracting the jewel shard that had been embedded there.

Suddenly, the youkai reared up and bit into Kagome's previously unwounded side. In a panicked motion, Kagome stabbed her arrow into the youkai's eye where the remaining Shikon shard still gleamed with a corrupted power. She yanked the arrow out and once again a Shikon shard came out along with the arrow-head. The youkai let out a piercing scream before it crumbled into lightly scattered dust before Kagome.

She picked up the other shard and clutched them both tightly in her fist. Kagome scrambled away as fast as her wounded body would allow, using her free hand to pull her backwards along the ground. It wasn't long before the last of her strength failed her and she lay sprawled across the ground. She looked over to her hand that had been flung out to her side but still tightly held the shards.

Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, Kagome passed out completely.

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^.~

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Farmers from the outskirts of the nearby village had heard the screams and cries of the battle that had taken place. They ran up to the source of the noise as soon as it had gone silent. When they arrived, they looked across the small clearing to find a young girl.

"Aye, some trail the lass must'a gone through here."

"'Tis true enough."

The villagers mumbled among themselves before walking over to the girl and carefully picking her up to leave her in the care of the village priestess.

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**Author's Notes: **Okay.. I have now become the poster girl for carpel tunnel syndrome.


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